Sensei Why Must I Learn so Many Techniques?
Sensei Spencer
3/17/2021
As a beginning karate student, the number of techniques you’re being taught or exposed to can be overwhelming. A few students in my years, of teaching, have had the temerity to ask, “why do I need to learn all these techniques? I just want to be able to defend myself if necessary.” Truthfully, no one uses all the techniques they’re being taught. To defend yourself you need three to four solid striking techniques and a few throwing techniques coupled with some hip-shifting ability on the ground, for escapes, sprinkled with a small number of submission techniques just in case. Mastering these will give you a measure of self-defense. It will not protect you in all scenarios, but it will give you a chance against an unskilled adversary. The question on the table is why teach so many techniques?
On YouTube the AOKK has a series of videos entitled “Lessons from Class.” They can be found at AOKKclub.com. The purpose of these videos is for a student to have a reference to a technique or series of techniques that were being taught in class. Sometimes during practice, you can lose some of the nuances that are being explained, so we are able to reinforce the lesson with visual images. In the video AOKK O-guruma: Lesson from Class, Dickson sensei teaches how we execute the Big Wheel throw and how it can be applicable in a confrontation. This throw is not exactly the same as its Judo counterpart but it is similar with the difference mainly being in the kuzushi or breaking of the opponent’s balance. Watching the video, you will note the instructor shows the subtle differences between O-guruma (big wheel), Tai-otoshi (body drop), and Hari-goshi (springing hip) throws. In the process of trying to execute O-guruma, you may find uke has other plans. If you concentrate on one throw, to the exclusion of all others, you limit your ability to respond to any changes that might occur in the course of the altercation. In the video, the instructor notes that if uke gets separation while executing O-guruma the throw will not be effective, and without hesitation the karateka should change throws and execute tai-otoshi. If the martial artist is a one trick pony, the throw will simply fail. This is one of many reasons for knowing multiple techniques.
Many people believe that black-belt is the end of their journey when in fact it is only the beginning. Yes, there are numerous techniques to learn to get to that point, but that is only the foundation necessary to continue the karateka’s education. Black-belt does not equate instructor. I did not fully begin to see the self-defense found in our kata until I began my education in range two kumite (fighting). Naga-waza or throwing technique explained many of the peculiar body positions found in our forms. In the YouTube video 13.4.1 Chinto Bunkai: Lesson from Class, we learn how the stepping backwards into a crane stance can be the execution of O-guruma as previously discussed. Without an understanding of naga-waza this gem would not have been unlocked and the bunkai would have remained in the realm of striking only (atemi-waza). The AOKK does not introduce naga-waza and ne-waza or tatami-waza until the karateka has reached Shodan (first black-belt). At this point he/she should have a solid grasp of striking and is ready for more instruction. Being limited to just punching and kicking techniques prevent the martial artist from truly savoring the richness of his/her art.
In the AOKK there are a dozen or so kicks maybe more. Why have so many? We developed low kicks to an opponent’s legs to minimize his/her mobility. It is kind of like chopping a tree down by hacking away at its base. Low kicks can turn a mobile adversary into a stationary punching bag. Forty-five-degree shin kicks to the ribs inflict damage and are much quicker than the traditional round kick. The squat-round kick is a Isshin-ryu traditional kick that employs body evasion. Cross-Over-Heel kick attacks the side of an adversary’s knee to create a hyperextension of the joint, and it can also be driven into the opponent’s hip crease to stop a blitzing attack, or it can be used to break an attacker’s balance when setting-up a throw. There are thrusting kicks and snapping kicks. One delivers power in an effort to end the confrontation while the other is an attempt to kick and not have the leg trapped. A Heel-Thrust kick to an opponent’s solar-plexus can stop an opponent’s linear charging attack and end the fight. A Cut-kick to the inside of the attacker’s thigh can destabilize the opponent’s stance. A high round or front kick to the attacker’s jaw can knock a fighter out. Jumping kicks can raise your hip line and generate great amounts of power. Knowing only one or two kicks, can limit your ability to wage an effective attack.
I was once asked by a very prominent Shorin-ryu instructor if I wanted my karate knowledge to be an inch deep and a mile wide or mile deep and an inch wide? In other words, he was asking do I want to learn many techniques and master none, or master a few techniques without learning the many? I believe the answer to his question is both. As an instructor it is selfish to limit your knowledge thus limiting your student’s knowledge. What works for your body type may not work well for all your students and without a broader knowledge of technique students may not be fully developed. I do however also believe that once you’ve discovered what works for you that it be practiced until it can be applied without thought. It must become as natural as breathing. During the filming of AOKK O-guruma: Lesson from Class, Dickson sensi struggled a little. He was not fond of the throw. He was more comfortable with Hari-goshi and Tai-otoshi because he used them regularly. Still, just because this is not in his comfort zone, he none the less understood it may be another karateka’s bread and butter, so he set his prejudice aside and demonstrated the technique. Learning many techniques not only increases the tools in your toolbox, but it also opens doors for your students to grow and explore new possibilities. Karate is not a one size fits all garment.
After forty years of training, karate becomes personal. It is no longer a system. It is much much more. It is the mile deep understanding of your personal self-defense. Your personal karate does not come overnight. It only develops after the karateka tries and discarding all the techniques didn’t work. Once you have your core techniques the karateka should try to master another. Yes, there are a lot techniques to learn and no, you will never master them all, but you must continue to grow and fail until you finally succeed. When you’ve mastered techniques in all ranges of fighting at that point it is time to pass that knowledge on to others.